Nish Kumar: Ruminations on the Nature of Subjectivity

Intelligent, informed, scattershot stand-up

Nish Kumar's new relationship has brought about a whole other level of understanding about his personality thanks to having someone around to point out how pessimistic, self-centred and egotistical he is. Other people have suggested that he shouldn't talk about race too much in case he alienates his white middle-class audience. As if he needs to worry about that: Kumar's been gaining ground over the past few years with critical acclaim and a burgeoning following. But still, at least he's got a whole raft of material out of these new, if unwelcome insights.

Although loosely themed on subjectivity, there is a somewhat scattershot nature to his show. With Kumar racing through and chucking out gags left, right and centre, it's hard to keep up. Surprisingly the quality doesn't dip at all. His musings are intelligent and informed, raising some pertinent points on race.

Many observations aren't exactly fresh but it's Kumar's own, personal take that makes them interesting. Such as his experiences of gigging on the very white Isle of Wight, always being asked about Islam when he was raised in a Hindu household, and finding that he can't avoid racist airport checks despite wearing a Gandhi t-shirt. Good job he hasn't paid those criticisms much heed.